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The Yukon/Alaska (and Siberian) moose are the largest. The Shiras is quite a bit smaller. Those are the only two I've been around. None are small!

Sorta what I did for almost 30 years (wildlife stuff, not impress).

There's one species (Alces alces) with a number of subspecies. A. a. gigas is the larger Yukon/Alaska moose. A. a. shirasi is the smaller Rocky Mountain type. And then there's A. a. andersoni for the Minnesota area moose. https://www.gbif.org/species/195657923

It appears that outrigger racing technique is quite different from marathon canoe. Watch this clip from the Au Sable Marathon, one of the preeminent marathons Au Sable Marathon. Paddles are held lower, less lunging forward, higher cadence, smaller blades. This doesn't seem to have changed in...

Huh, my intelligence is pretty artificial (fake?). I wonder why I didn't have the answers Alan provided?

Yup on 1 and 2. Possibly on 3. The slowest boat I've ever soloed with sit and switch is an OT 16 Penobscot with a solo seat. I was on a short multi-day trip, and made sure I was trim (namely, the fairly sleek bow was in the water contributing to tracking). It wasn't what I was used to, but...

Interesting. I'm not sure I agree with your logic, though. Both in racing and touring, I try my best not to touch the boat (although the marks on the throat of my paddle suggest otherwise). As hitting the boat is erratic with the best of paddlers, the bow paddler taking his/her switching cue...

That's scary. Good luck Mark! I grew up with ticks in the South, and no one paid them any mind. Don't know what it's like there now (or maybe we were just tougher back then!). I do remember it being hotter, colder, wetter and drier BITD.

So Glenn, you don't sit and switch, which makes sense, but where does hit and switch come from? What are you hitting?

You have some nice photos out there, Al.

Is it "sit and switch" or "hit and switch"? I've always called it sit and switch, cuz that's exactly what you're doing, sitting and switching. Where did hit and switch come from? When calling switches, no one says "hit"--"hut" or "hup" is a more efficient call, so it must not be from calling...

Then you need to improve your technique. For me, sit and switch is pretty mindless and automatic, but I've been doing it for over 40 years, and I'm a fast boat guy. With proper technique, it is fast, efficient, and automatic. That, and heeling the boat over in solo, is the way I can maneuver...

Holubar and Frostline come to mind.

This particular canvas had some sort of treatment on it that sorta powdered up, white stuff falling down into the workings. It was an old tarp or tent before.

I had a climbing rope--jumared up (mechanical ascenders that grip the rope) and rappelled down. The blind was about 40" square, a bit taller.

I had a climbing rope--jumared up (mechanical ascenders that grip the rope) and rappelled down. The blind was about 40" square, a bit taller.

Here's sort of an atypical sewing project, an observation blind I sewed and placed 100 feet up in a tree to observe nesting owls (great gray owl sitting on nest in lower right). I sewed it out of retired waterproofed canvas--I don't advise that if you value your sewing machine. Lots of gunk...

A little tripping synchrony

I think I've posted this before. Spray deck for a 17' PakBoat. I'll put it through its paces this summer. My next project (waiting on the fabric) will be a custom duffel that will include two paddles, the long rods of my PakCanoe, and a hard case for the shotgun.

Clint, I thought you might chime in. Of course what I was talking about is long distance tripping, not day paddling or racing. I love the feeling of synchronous strokes, perfect switches, the feeling of raw efficiency. But on the last two trips, it wasn't going to happen. Recreational...